Kenyans Reduce Sugar, Milk Consumption As High Prices Bite

• A report by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) indicated sugar consumption reduced by 42% between January and June 2023
• Sugar sales reduced from 65,921 tonnes in January to 38,102 tonnes in June as a 2kg packet of the sweetener soared past the KSh 500 mark
• According to KNBS, milk consumption during the period under review dropped to 299.7 million litres compared to 323.6 million litres recorded in 2022

As high sugar prices continue to bite, the consumption of the commodity has dropped, showing how households have resorted to squeezing their budgets.

Why sugar and milk consumption dropped

A report by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) indicated sugar consumption reduced by 42% between January and June 2023.

Sugar sales reduced from 65,921 tonnes in January to 38,102 tonnes in June. This came as a 2kg packet of the sweetener soared past the KSh 500 mark.

"Total closing stocks of sugar held by factories at the end of June 2023 dropped to 7,363 tonnes from 11,396 tonnes in May," the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) stated.

Daily Nation reported that Kenyans consumed the lowest amounts of milk during the same period.

According to KNBS, milk consumption during the period under review dropped to 299.7 million litres compared to 323.6 million litres recorded in 2022.

Why there's sugar shortage in Kenya

Sugar prices hiked after the government introduced excise duty on imports and temporarily shut down local production.

The Ministry of Agriculture issued directives to local sugar millers to suspend operations until November 2023.

The move aimed at allowing sugarcane planted in the Western part of Kenya to mature took effect from Friday, July 1 4.

How poisonous sugar found way to market

Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) are investigating the suspected release of contaminated sugar into the market.

DCI and officers from the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) found the five million tonnes of sugar stored in Thika godown in 2018 missing.

The brown sugar packed in 10,000 bags of 50kg was imported into the country from Zimbabwe by Merako Investments Ltd.

After finding it non-compliant with Kenyan consumer standards, KBS banned the sugar from entering the market.

But in December 2022, Citizen TV reported that suspended KEBS managing director Bernard Njiraini wrote to the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) requesting the release of the sugar.

President William Ruto suspended over 25 officials across respective agencies over the incident.